Happy Halloween!

The kids have been sooooo excited for Halloween, and I think they had a good night!
We went to Trunk or Treat at church and then went around with some friends in their mothers neighborhood. It was fun to see the kids so excited and dressed up.
Jaysa was so cute as after about 4-5 times of seeing people put candy in her bucket she started to get the hang of it and put it out for them herself. And boy, she did not want anyone touching her bucket! John has been really excited as I have been making his Thomas the Train outfit this week and he was watching every thing I did. We were so surprised by some friends of ours who made the buckets for the kids and gave them to Jim at work. What a cute gift!
Jim's parents have been here for a bit helping out with things around the house and with the kids. It was a lot of fun to have them here and we were sad to see them go, especially John as he spent his last week working with Grandpa and having the best time. This week we also went to a Japanese steak house and the kids loved our funny cook. They couldn't believe he cooked right in front of us.


Trick or Treat














John helping Grandpa

OK, OK, OK

I have been receiving many emails requesting an update :) I am so sorry to our faithful readers, that there has been no update for so long. So where to start? Juliana has been doing really well in school. She is surprising everyone at how fast she is learning and catching up to other students. She really is a very smart girl. On her report card she had 1 A 2 B's and a C. And she has continued to do better in her spelling and vocabulary which has been her hardest subject. Her favorite day is Monday because that is music day and she is learning to play the recorder. She is not allowed to bring it home, so I have not heard her play but she talks about it all the time. She has played soccer this fall and we are so proud of her. Her games have been fun to watch and she says she likes it when we are yelling at her from the sidelines helping out. I never thought I would be a mom that does that because I always hated it when my parents did it, but there I am jumping out of my seat and shouting, (sometimes) :) She still has her moments of testing us, but she is such a beautiful, sweet, smart girl and we have continued to be amazed at what God is doing in her life!
John is such joy! It has taken him a little longer to catch up understanding and speaking English but he is off and running now. He is such a talker and talks about everything. There hasn't been a day though that he hasn't gotten in trouble for doing something crazy like, putting rocks in the toilet or hanging on the towel rack and pulling out of the wall and making a big hole. One day he decided to go through the mail on the counter and riped everything up. We are on number 6 times of writing on the wall or couch with whatever he finds. He is definitely a boy. He too has been playing soccer, if you can call holding hands with his girl teammate and running up and down the field, playing soccer :) The one time he actually kicked the ball it was into the other teams goal. I think we will wait a little bit longer before we put him in another sport. I just don't know that he will be playing many sports. He is very good at putting things together like puzzles and loves to help his Dad work out in the yard. He goes to preschool one day a week and loves it!
Jaysa has started the terrific 2's. She had a birthday 3 weeks ago and we have started getting her interested in potty training. I have discovered this is going to be fun (not). She is such a cutie though and is interested in everything. She loves her brother and copies everything he does. One great praise report is that a few weeks ago I took her back for more x-rays of her hip and the Doctor said she is fine, no more hip dysplasia!! She has been sleeping great without her brace.
Jim and I have been enjoying being parents to these three wonderful kids. I don't think we could have been blessed with better kids. With every new day we feel more and more like we have been together all along. I will admit that some days have been tough for me. I thought I would immediately feel like a mom and it has taken me a little longer to get settled into my new life as a stay at home mom to 3 kids. I have been learning so much and I love that Gods mercies and grace are new every morning! Especially when I have a bad day, it gives me such joy knowing that tomorrow is a new day and new opportunity to do things differently!
Here are some recent picks!

At a friends wedding


Happy B-day Jaysa!









My parents stayed with the kids while I went on a business trip with Jim to Arizona. Our first time without the kids. They did great and it was such a fun time for us!




My mom had a bag of figs and Jaysa preceded to eat the whole bag by keeping her mouth full of them. It was quite funny:)


My happy Boy!


A good friend of ours brought home there 2 precious jewels from Guatamala and we spent some time with them playing at the park. This is her oldest Fernanda! Isn't she a cutie :)